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LEXINGTON, Ky. — Despite flashing an overhauled lineup promoted as all-stars by preseason pundits, despite a promising start to the season that led it to be ranked as high as No. 7 in The Associated Press poll, Mizzou basketball spent the season teetering between seemingly vast potential and exasperating inconsistency.

On Thursday night at Rupp Arena in its NCAA Tournament opener against eighth-seeded Colorado State, No. 9 seed Mizzou put to rest the question of what would ultimately define it all in a straitjacketing at the hands of Colorado State.

The Tigers, who simply never had “it,” were stiff-armed 84-72 to tumble in their first NCAA game for the third straight season and finish 23-11.

Colorado State (26-8) won its first NCAA game in 24 years to extend the winningest season in school history and advance to play Saturday against Louisville, the top seed in the Midwest Regional and in the tournament overall.

The Rams entered the game leading the nation in rebounding margin at plus-12 a game, and they were all of that and then some against Mizzou, outrebounding the Tigers 42-19.

Senior guard Dorian Green led the Rams with 26 points, including 11 of 12 free throws on a night CSU made 27 of 33 from the line and the Tigers hit 17 of 19.

Junior guard Phil Pressey led Mizzou with 20 points and seven assists, but the Tigers trailed by as many as 17 and were shoved around from the get-go.

Mizzou was playing in the NCAA Tournament for the 26th time and just four years removed from an Elite Eight run when Laurence Bowers was a freshman.

The Tigers also had a unique tournament experience factor in Alex Oriakhi, who was a key cog in Connecticut’s 2011 NCAA championship run.

The Rams entered the game 3-10 in NCAA play, with only five appearances and one victory (in 1989) since 1969.

But CSU dashed to a quick 15-5 lead by hitting its first five field goals, including three 3-pointers, two by Wes Eikmeier.

Meanwhile, MU made just two of its first eight, all so much without a touch for Oriakhi, who entered the game having made 34 of his last 40 field goals over Mizzou’s previous six games.

The Tigers cut it to 15-9 on a Bowers’ bucket and two free throws by Oriakhi after some pressure defense forced a CSU turnover.

CSU, though, soon was up 20-9 after two free throws and 3-pointer by Green, a shot that came right after another Pressey 3 early in the shot clock got him yanked out by Haith in favor of Jabari Brown . even with Brown wearing two fouls.

With just over 10 minutes left in the half and down 12, MU seemed to get a break when CSU center Colton Iverson picked up his second foul.

But the Tigers scarcely could take advantage as he sat out the rest of the half, twice grinding the lead down to as little as six on Pressey 3-pointers but lagging 47-38 at the intermission after a three-point play by Eikmeier.

Perhaps as symbolic testimony to the degree MU was out of focus, as the shot-clock buzzer sounded when Keion Bell missed a 3-pointer with seconds to play in the half Oriakhi apparently thought it was the halftime horn and failed to go after a gettable rebound.

That helped account for Colorado State’s 17-7 halftime advantage on the boards.

Just the same, Oriakhi was about all the Tigers had going for them in the half. He made good on all four field goals he attempted to lead MU with 10 points at intermission.

Pressey also helped with a late surge, hitting his last three field goals after missing his first five to go with four assists, and freshman Negus Webster-Chan in rare first-half minutes chipped in four points - the most he had in a game since getting seven on Dec. 17 against South Carolina State.

Led by Green’s 17 points in the half, CSU’s advantage was built at the line, where it was 11-11 compared to MU’s 4-4, and from 3-point range, where the Rams hit six of 10 as MU made four of 12.

The Rams missed their first five shots of the second half as a Brown 3 and a Pressey layup whittled the lead down to 47-43.

But CSU squelched that rally and went right back up 12 by thrashing Mizzou inside, punctuating it with a dunk by Jon Octeus that made it 59-47.

Two Eikmeier free throws gave CSU its biggest lead . until seconds later when Daniel Bejaramo hit a 3 to seemingly put it out of reach.

To that point, Colorado State was outrebounding Mizzou 30-11.

In fact, Iverson was outrebounding himself 12-11.

Mizzou shaved the 17-point lead to 72-65 on three Brown free throws and a Pressey 3-pointer with just over 5 minutes left, but two free throws and a layup by Pierce Hornung made it 76-65 and Octeus put it away with a basket and two more free throws - making CSU 23 of 25 at the line to that point.

For reasons not immediately understood, Bell was hooked by MU coach Frank Haith early in the game and re-entered for a few minutes but did not play at all in the second half.